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Tuesday, April 11, 2017

Review: The Hate U Give

"Sometimes you can do everything right and things will still go wrong. The key is to never stop doing right."

-Angie Thomas, The Hate U Give

Starr Carter is situated between two different worlds: the prep school she attends and the poor neighborhood she lives in, overrun by gangs. The two worlds collide when Starr is the only witness of a police shooting in her neighborhood, killing her childhood best friend, Khalil. His death quickly becomes national news, and Starr must decide if she's going to stay in the sidelines or take a stand against the injustice.

This is probably one of the most important books that I've read so far this year, and will probably remain in that spot until the end of the year. Angie Thomas wrote this book inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement, and it shows through every aspect of the novel. The injustice that seeps out of this book is an injustice that a lot of people live with every single day, and this novel (and the eventual movie) will help to bring it to light even more than before.

Thomas's prose is exquisitely written, making the reader feel like they are actually there, creating immersive scenes and crafting well-rounded characters that you become invested in the moment that you meet them. In an industry that has often been criticized for its lack of diversity, The Hate U Give shows that hopefully, the young adult literature realm is moving in the right direction.

As Thomas's debut novel, I think we can surely expect more great things from her as the future comes. I will absolutely recommend this to everyone, as I think it's an important glimpse into the way race works in our society.